Manual for new universal LED Fuel Gauge from Belite Electronics

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Specifications & Installation Instructions for universal LED Fuel Gauge from Belite Electronics

LED Fuel Gauge from Belite Electronics.  Dual tank version also available.

Part Numbers:

SINGLE TANK – XXXX

DUAL TANK -- XXXX

See the video explaining it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr_4Roio7sY

At A Glance:

·         Lightest Weight
·         Smallest Size
·         Best visibility of any fuel gauge
·         LED colors: green, then yellow, then red, and also increases in brightness as fuel level goes down
·         Bottom LED flashes brilliant red when out of fuel
·         Single or Dual tank versions
·         Compatible with Capacitive (0-5v) and Resistive Fuel Probe Senders
·         May be calibrated to any individual Fuel Probe Sender
·         Dimmable

Belite’s Improved LED Fuel Gauge provides a LED display which shows the current amount of fuel in your fuel tank.  Calibrated from 0% to 100%, it features unusually bright LEDs which are completely readable in direct sunlight.  It is available in a single or dual version, for support of one or two fuel tanks.  The input compatibility is selectable between traditional float style fuel senders and newer style capacitive fuel senders.  It may be calibrated to match the full and empty point of any fuel sender / tank at the push of a button.  The unit uses digital electronics to interpret, calibrate and display the fuel tank level.  Calibration of the fuel level is done via a single button for each tank.

SPECIFICATIONS

·        Dimensions:  2 3/8” x 2 3/8” x 5/8” (not including connector height).  Fits standard 2 ¼” instrument hole.  Including connector, complete depth of instrument is 1.0”.
·         Power Supply:  Attaches to any DC power supply between 8 and 14 volts.  Alternatively, you may use LITHIUM 9V batteries.  DO NOT USE ALKALINE 9V batteries.  Battery life is approximately 4 – 8 hours using a lithium 9V battery.
·         Power Consumption:  less than 30ma for single display; less than 50ma for dual display.
·         Weight:  1.2 ounce / 35 grams (includes electrical connector).
·         Color LED Range:  Green (full), Yellow and Red (empty).
·         Probe Compatibility:  Use with any capacitive probe (standard 0-5v output); use with any resistive probe (EG:  30 – 240 ohm; will also work with any other ohm range such as 40 – 90 ohm)
·         Slosh Damping:  Electronic filtering built into the Belite Fuel Gauge controls minor errant reading due to fuel sloshing.
·         FCC Part 15:  Compliant by EXEMPTION, Section 15.103(a)
·         For other directives:  THIS EQUIPMENT IS DESIGNED FOR USE IN AIRCRAFT and VEHICLES.
·         Internal Fusing:  None, use external fuse <= 1A.
·         Power:  use external switching.
·         Power On Self Test:  Observe all LEDs illuminated through pattern check and variable brightness check.
·         Dimming Control:  0 – 12V; 0 = full bright; 12V = full dim.  Use external 5K potentiometer.  Dimming the LEDs substantially reduces power consumption.
·         TSO/PMA:  No.  For use in non-certified aircraft.
·         Warranty:  US:  1 year.  Rest of world:  2 year.
·         Temperature Range:  -20C – 45C (operating).  -40C – 70C (nonoperating).
·         Humidity:  Non-condensing.
·         Cabling:  Black = ground; Red = 8-14v; Yellow = Dimming (leave unconnected if unused).  Remaining wires are for left / right fuel sender input.

INSTALLATION

Install in any 2 ¼” instrument hole using provided screws and lock nuts.

Attach ground and power to black and red wires by cutting off the 9V connector.  The supplied 9V battery connector may be used for temporary unit testing, or may be used as a permanent source of power.  Use only Lithium 9V batteries.  Walmart sells them, as do many other battery retailers.  They are usually found in the photo section of the store.

If you have decided to install a dimmer, attach the yellow wire to the middle lug of a 5K potentiometer.  The other lugs of the potentiometer must be attached to ground and +12V.  (Using +9V for the dimming potentiometer will not provide full dimming.)

INSTALLATION - SELECTING CAPACITIVE OR RESISTIVE FUEL SENDERS

When you turn the fuel gauge on, it will perform a Power On Self Test.  If the LEDs light up from bottom to top, your unit is configured for capacitive fuel senders.  If the LEDs light up from top to bottom, your unit is configured for resistive fuel senders.

To reverse, attach the switch assembly to the program connector, and depress the switch before you power the unit up.  The fuel gauge will sense this condition and permanently reconfigure the gauge form capacitive to resistive, or vice versa.  (Each side [left tank / right tank] of the display gauge has an independent switch.)

We recommend ‘playing’ with this capability before you install the fuel gauge in your airplane.

You MUST have the correct configuration set in your fuel gauge (relative to your type of fuel sender) or you will have improper operation.

INSTALLATION - WIRING – CAPACITIVE FUEL SENDERS

The remaining one or two wires are attached to the capacitive fuel senders.  (You may verify the right / left wires by touching them briefly to the positive 9V battery post.)  After verification of right / left, the gauge may be attached to the fuel senders.  Each capacitive fuel sender has an ‘output’ that supplies a voltage indication of the fuel tank level, 0 – 5 volts.  This voltage level is interpreted by the LED fuel gauge to show the amount of fuel in your tank.  Just connect the fuel sender to the fuel gauge and it will work.

Capacitive Probe Fuel Tank Wiring Diagram.  Figure 1.

INSTALLATION - WIRING – RESISTIVE FUEL SENDERS

The remaining one or two wires are attached to the resistive fuel sender.  Additionally, you must attach a 330 ohm resistor (included) from +12V (your system power) to the same line. 

Resistive probe fuel tank wiring.  Figure 2.

INSTALLATION – CALIBRATION

Calibration is easy.  Each side of the gauge is calibrated independently.  Calibration is performed AFTER you’ve selected fuel sender type (capacitive vs resistive) and after you’ve attached the senders.

You must have the switch assembly attached to the fuel gauge.

When the fuel tank condition is empty, depress the switch for less than one second.  The fuel gauge will permanently remember this level as being the empty level.

When the fuel tank condition is full, depress the switch for more than three seconds.  The fuel gauge will permanently remember this level as being the full level.

Calibration for each tank is done independently.

The fuel gauge will retain these calibration levels in permanent flash memory storage within the fuel gauge.

After calibration, the switch assembly should be disconnected from the fuel gauge.

TIPS

We strongly recommend ‘playing’ with the unit prior to installation in your aircraft.  Sender type should be set and verified.  Operation of the LED scale may be verified simply by brushing the input wire against a positive voltage source.  You’ll see the LED jump up and then slowly dissipate down.  If the unit is configured for capacitive senders, a positive voltage will cause the LED indication to rise.  If configured for resistive senders, a positive voltage will cause the LED indication to fall.

It is much easier to resolve issues prior to installing the probes in your aircraft.

Contact us if you have any questions.

The Best Altimeter for General Aviation, ever!!

Please note: James' blog has moved to a Wordpress site. To access it, please visit http://jameswiebe.wordpress.com/. All posts have been transferred to the new site, and all new posts will only be accessible via Wordpress. Thank you for your interest!


Every once in a while, I've had the opportunity to work on something that has turned out to be an industry game changer.  Giving a nod to my background in computer forensics, one recent game changer that I've been privileged to be a part of is the CRU / WiebeTech "Ditto" product, which sucks information from hard drives in a forensically sound manner.  In fact, it can do it from halfway around the planet.  It does other really cool stuff too, like support stealth mode, but I won't talk about that here.  :-O

My 30 year background in electronics, combined with my aviation passion, has allowed me to create a product which is simple to understand, and is very useful in multiple ways, and is affordable, and will be used by the owner, providing years of "why didn't someone do this before" moments as it provides valuable flight information.

It does many really cool things:

For instance, it displays Standard Indicated Altitude, which is received from a temperature compensated solid state pressure sensor circuit built inside the unit.  This is the altimeter function you've come to know and expect.  It works from 0 to 20K feet, no issues.  You set the local altimeter pressure, it gives you the altitude.

The screen looks like this:

Indicated Altitude on Altimeter from Belite Aircraft

There are two indicator lights on the left (only one is used in this model).  There are three switches in the unit.  In order to set the local pressure just touch the left or the right switch.  The pressure setting will move up and down.

If you touch the center switch, the unit will skip forward to the next mode, which is one of its coolest features:

*  DENSITY altitude.  The unit will supply the calculated density altitude, based on cockpit temperature.  This feature is alone worth its weight in gold.  I no longer guess or calculate the DA, I just touch a button and it reports it to me.  You don't have to input the local pressure setting for this to work correctly; in fact the local pressure setting is irrelevant to the Density Altitude calculation.  Density altitude looks like this:

Density Altitude calculation on Belite digital altimeter.

Density altitude, by convention, is always shown rounded to the nearest 100 feet.

By clicking the mode switch again (and again), you can move through several more display modes.  They include:

Current system voltage
Current absolute pressure in inches or in Pascals
Current system voltage alarm level
Current display system -- English or Metric
Temperature, in Fahrenheit or Celsius
VFR Cruising alarm enable

Displaying the current system voltage is straightforward.  I've got a screen shot showing an example:

Display the voltage

The unit shown was attached a nine volt battery.  It will work fine with anything between 8 and 14 volts, so attaching to any conventional 12/14v system is fine.

One of the screens lets you select a system voltage alarm level:

Display the voltage alarm

So for my 9 volt battery, I set this to 8.6 volts.  For a 12 volt system, I would probably set it to about 12.5 volts -- it would never go off unless the alternator failed.  It flashes a battery symbol in the lower left corner of the display when the voltage is low.

I like the temperature display, because I think the design of the display icon is kind of cute.  Here it is:

Belite digital altimeter showing temperature in fahrenheit.

As mentioned, there are several other screens which the unit will display.  While stepping through the screens, you can always switch back to indicated altitude by holding the center mode switch down for about 2 seconds.

And if you hold the same button down for about six seconds, the unit will turn off.  Touching any button brings it back to life.

While on the home (indicated altitude screen) if you push the mode button down, it will turn on a soft internal backlight.  The backlight may also be attached to an external dimmer, compatible with 0 to 12 volts.

Another really interesting function for the average General Aviation pilot is the VFR cruising alarm.  This alarm, when enabled, will flash the LED with a bright Red blink pattern when your altitude varies more than 100 feet from a VFR cruising altitude.  For instance, if you are flying at 5500 feet, and the alarm is enabled, and you stray downwards to 5399 feet, the alarm will alert you.

The unit is so sensitive and accurate, you may place it at your feet and read the altitude, then move it to over your head, and read the change in altitude.  There is a little single digit inaccuracy, but you will note a change in between 6 and 10 feet.  Also, the unit is very fast -- it updates information many times per second.

Here's some basic technical information.

1.  This unit weighs 50 grams, about 1.5 ounces.

2.  This unit consumes about 1 milliamp of power.  That is one-thousandth of an amp.  (Assuming the backlight is NOT turned on.)

3.  The external dimmer line is compatible with any voltage from 0 to 12V.  Must supply up to 40ma of power for the backlight.

4.  The unit will fit in any standard round 2.25" instrument hole.

5.  You may remove the metal faceplate and directly mount the unit in any flat panel (must drill appropriate holes and cutouts to accommodate.)

6.  Power supply must be between 8 and 14 volts.

7.  Indicated altitude is shown in increments of one foot.  Internal Analog to Digital converter has less resolution but is "dithered" to increase resolution.

8.  The unit is upgradeable via firmware downloads.

9.  It will display any altitude between 0 and 20,000 feet.

10.  The VFR cruising alarm margin is +/- 100 feet.

11.  As the unit is 'experimental', it may be used in any experimental airplane or ultralight airplane.  With manufacture support, it could be used in Light Sport Aircraft.

12.  When purchased in our enclosure version, it may be used in any aircraft.

You can order it from our online store, or from Aircraft Spruce, or from any of our international distributor partners.  Pricing is $249.95 (US), or $299.95 in an enclosure with battery.

Absolute Pressure in Pascals.

In summary, my competitive sales guide would read like this:

1)  Lightest industry weight -- 50 grams
2)  Smallest size -- very thin, fits standard panel 2.25" hole
3)  Lowest power consumption -- 1 milliamp
4)  Highest resolution -- 1 foot displayed
5)  Useful range -- 0 to 20,000 feet
6)  Safety paramount -- provides Density Altitude
7)  Cool additional features:  -- voltage alarm, VFR cruising alarm, more
8)  Great value -- $249.95
9)  Also available in an enclosure for use in any airplane